User:ALG2004/sandbox

introduction
Maria Beasley was born in Philadelphia. An 1880's census had her listed as a unemployed house wife. But other records suggest that she was an inventor and business woman, she lived the life of an entrepreneur.

The Life Raft
In Maria's later life she wanted to create a better life raft that was "fire-proof, compact, safe and readily launched." She invented this new design in 1880 (picture is unavailable due to copyright) her new design included guard railings surrounding the raft and rectangular metal floats. This design is able to fold and unfold fold so it is easy to store, even with the rails.